MUMBAI: Dow Jones & Company has named Ann Sarnoff president of Dow Jones Ventures, a new position charged with expanding the reach of Dow Jones brands to new markets and customers.

An executive with media, consumer-marketing and professional-sports experience, Sarnoff will lead development of new digital businesses in adjacent consumer markets at Dow Jones, states an official release.

Sarnoff, 44, comes to Dow Jones with a background in consumer media and young-adult marketing. She held senior strategy, finance and development roles at Viacom and was a key player in the growth of the Nickelodeon, VH1 and Country Music Television brands and businesses. Sarnoff also ran the business operations of the Women's National Basketball Association, the release adds.

"We want to create compelling new products and businesses to make the very most of our indispensable brands, content, products and people for the benefit of existing and new customers. With her experience and success building and expanding brands and businesses, Ann is ideally suited to help us innovate and take the Journal and other Dow Jones franchises to new audiences and new arenas," says Dow Jones chief executive Rich Zannino.

Sarnoff spent 10 years at Viacom, rising in 2001 to become COO for both VH1 and CMT:Country Music Television where she was responsible for the strategic planning and business development of both channels, and oversight of their brand extensions and digital strategy. Previously, she was responsible for consumer products and business development at Nickelodeon.

More recently, Sarnoff was the COO of the WNBA, where she oversaw all the league's business operations, including programming, marketing, licensing and merchandising. She worked earlier in her career at the strategic consulting firm, Marakon Associates.